Life During Death
by Lunarangel's Dark Flame
Summary: What happened between the two, between the reluctant Quincy and the shinigami captain who pretended to be human? Isn't it obvious? Complete chaos!
1. Chapter 1

This is a request by my friend, KuronoMizu. She's here on Fanfiction. Go read her things. Why isn't she the one writing this? She says I'm better but don't listen to her. She has low self-esteem. All right, let's begin.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Thank you. Good night.

* * *

"You said what?!"

A mouth was clamped over the shinigami's mouth as his captain put a finger to his lips.

"Shut up. You call yourself my loyal subordinate? If you're loyal, you'll be quiet," the captain hissed.

The shinigami mumbled something and the captain removed his hand.

"You're leaving us? But…why?" the shinigami quivered.

The captain sighed before he looked at his zanpakutou with a nostalgic smile.

"This life…uh, afterlife or whatever, just isn't for me anymore. I want to help spirits, but I also want to help the living, and I can't do that living here," the captain said, stomping down on the ground.

"But…we need you, taichou," the shinigami whimpered.

"You don't need me. Sure, I'm totally awesome but someone else will come and they'll be your new captain."

"What about your sword?"

"I'm keeping it, of course. Just because I won't be here, doesn't mean I'm not going to slice up a Hollow every now and then."

"What about Yamamoto-soutaichou?"

"If he asks, pretend you don't know anything. I have a way to hide myself from the old man."

"Why can't you protect the living here?"

"I hate this place. Too stuffy and the old man has too many regulations. I can't take it. It's not worth it," the captain said, grabbing his bag.

"…Where will you go?"

The captain-level shinigami smirked before he showed off a slip of paper.

"I'm heading to…"

* * *

"Are you sure you wish to do this?"

The silver-haired Quincy merely stared at his father in disapproval.

"Of course I'm sure. Your life does not involve me," the Quincy grunted, attempting to close his suitcase.

"But…you would make such a fine Quincy," the old man told the young Quincy.

"I do not care. The life of the Quincy is not mine," the Quincy growled, still attempting to close his suitcase.

Sighing because he couldn't take it anymore, the old man moved his son out of the way before he pushed the suitcase down and closed it. He handed it to his son, who was blushing.

"Stop treating me like a child," the Quincy demanded, taking the suitcase.

"I'm not treating you like a child. You just needed help. That's what a father does," the old man said, smiling.

"Well, I don't need you to. I don't need your help anymore," the Quincy stated.

"So, does that mean, 'don't pay the rest of your tuition'?" the old man asked.

"I'm on a scholarship. One I plan to keep," the Quincy huffed.

"Why must you always be so stubborn? I don't know where you get it from."

"My tenacity is what will make me great," the Quincy reasoned.

"Why can't you continue to be a Quincy as well? Helping the living is important, but helping the dead is just as important," the old man disputed.

"The dead are dead, meaning they are hopeless and can no longer be helped. Go into retirement and leave all of the Hollows to the shinigami."

"No hug goodbye?"

The Quincy looked at the old man before he looked away. The old man merely held out his arms and the Quincy sighed before hugging the old man and moving away quickly.

"I still say you would make an outstanding Quincy."

"And you wonder where I get my tenacity. I might defeat a Hollow at times but don't put anything into it. I will see you come Christmas," the Quincy said, opening the door.

"Where will you be studying?"

"It's obvious. At…"

* * *

"…Karakura Medical University is one of the top-ranking medical schools in all of Japan. I expect all of you students to work hard and continue to bring honor to our great school's name," the dean finished, upon which the students erupted into a roar of applause.

"Let's see. Room 224, where could that be?" a man mumbled as he attempted to find his room. He appeared to be in his early twenties with dark hair. "Finally!"

The man stopped in front of the door with his room number on it. Unlocking the door, the man walked inside and observed his room.

"Whoo. Not bad," he evaluated before heading to the bedroom.

Taking a look, he saw that there were two bedrooms, so he was probably going to get a roommate sooner or later. He threw his things into one of the bedrooms, except for the thing on his back. Carefully taking it off his back, he unwrapped the object—a sword.

"I'm sorry about this."

'_**It's okay. Just take good care of me and promise I get to slice up at least one Hollow.'**_

"Promise. Now, I'm gonna go off and get food. Check ya."

The man put his sword away and placed it under his pillow. He ran out of the room, leaving the door unlocked. A man with silver hair came up to the door and looked at his paper.

"Room 224. This is it," the man spoke softly, reaching for his key.

He found it before he grabbed the knob and was unhappy to find it open.

"Either someone tried to rob this room, the custodian is absent-minded, or I'm rooming with an idiot," the man registered.

The man walked into the room before walking over to the bedrooms and was not happy to see that one was taken.

"I'm rooming with an idiot," the man sighed before he went to the other bedroom.

He put his things in the room before he opened one of his bags to see a chain with a Quincy Cross attached.

"Quincy…bah. I feel the need for a cup of coffee," the man said, heading out of the room.

"Here's your okonomiyaki! Please enjoy!" a hostess exclaimed happily.

"Thank you very much," the man with dark hair cried, walking off.

"Here's your coffee," another hostess whispered, blushing.

"Thank you," the man with silver hair murmured, going on his way.

The man with dark hair opened his take-out box as the man with silver hair began to drink his coffee. Not watching where either was going, the two men ended up bumping into each other. It led to the dark-haired man's okonomiyaki falling on his head and the silver-haired man's coffee falling on his shirt.

"Son of a bitch!" the man with dark hair yelled.

"Hot...!" the man with silver hair growled.

The two men glared at each other before the man with dark hair threw the okonomiyaki off his head while the man with silver hair took off his overshirt to reveal his blue-collared shirt. The two men continued to glare at each other until one spoke.

"Watch it, you fool."

"Don't call me a fool, you asshole!"

Both sent another glare at each other before they walked in opposite directions from each other.

"That motherfucking asshole. I'd like to take my zanpakutou and stick it up his—"

A loud roar interrupted his very inappropriate threat. Looking up, the dark-haired man's face lit up with excitement.

"Thank you. Hello, misplaced aggression," the man snickered.

The man ran into a deserted part of the campus where his body fell limp. His shinigami version dragged the body into an empty garden shed. The man disappeared for a second before he reappeared in his room.

"Come on. We've got a Hollow to kill," the man told the sword, grabbing it and disappearing again.

"Who did that fool think he was? If he becomes a Hollow when he dies, it will be my pleasure to destroy him," the man with silver hair muttered, entering his room.

He stopped for a moment before he headed to the window. Looking out it, he sighed. Another pain.

"It doesn't concern me. Father will probably be unable to reach it, though. One of the shinigami will get it," the silver-haired man said, heading into his bedroom.

He sat down on his bed for a few seconds before he growled. He grabbed his chain and ran out of the room.

"Who am I kidding? Everyone knows shinigami can't do anything right."

The Hollow group was about to destroy things when a slash to one of their masks destroyed one.

"Hey, you stupid Hollows. Try me on for size!"

The Hollows all looked over to see the dark-haired shinigami, pointing his zanpakutou at them.

"A tasty morsel. Destroy him!" the Hollow leader yelled.

All of the Hollows charged at the shinigami, who only smirked. He leaped, he slashed, and the Hollows fell until there was one.

"Man, that was boring. I'm still not over my rage," the shinigami yawned.

The final Hollow was about to attack when it just disappeared. The shinigami merely blinked before he looked in front of him and almost dropped his sword.

"No…way…"

The one who had killed the final Hollow…was a Quincy? Not just any Quincy, but this Quincy was the same asshole that had knocked over his okonomiyaki!

The Quincy lowered his bow before he looked in front of him. His eye started twitching uncontrollably as he stared. This couldn't be. A shinigami was here—and not just any shinigami, but that fool who spilled his coffee.

"A Quincy…"

"A shinigami…"

"…is attending my medical school. This just isn't right."

* * *

There's the first chapter. Did you like it? Let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter of my Isshin and Ryuuken fic. Once again, this was asked for by my friend, KuronoMizu. Now, disclaimer!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, I would be a billionaire and I would be thanking many of you for being fans for the series.

* * *

The dark-haired shinigami and the silver-haired Quincy just stared each other down before the shinigami sheathed his zanpakutou.

"So…not only are you an asshole, but you're a _Quincy_ asshole. That just makes this twice as perfect," the shinigami said.

The Quincy's bow disappeared and he merely adjusted his glasses in obvious annoyance. A vein appeared on the shinigami's head as he stomped over to the Quincy.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" the shinigami shouted in fury.

"What are you doing here? Is this some stupid mission the leader of Seireitei put up, because if it is, stay out of my way."

"I'm here of my own free will. I want to learn how to be a doctor."

The Quincy's eyes widened before he stared at the shinigami.

"So, you're giving up the life of a shinigami?"

"No…I'm merely helping the living as well as the dead. Both need protection," the shinigami boasted.

The Quincy stared at him and shook his head.

"Fool," the Quincy stated before he turned his back to the shinigami.

"I told you not to call me a fool, Quincy!"

"Don't call me Quincy," the Quincy—uh, silver-haired man growled.

"Then what should I call you?" the shinigami asked in annoyance.

"My name is Ishida Ryuuken," the Quincy informed the shinigami. "Find somewhere in that little pea-sized brain of yours to remember it. Now, leave me alone."

"Wait! It's only respectful—"

"You know about respect?"

"Shut up! It's only respectful that I introduce myself after you do. I am Kurosaki Isshin," the shinigami declared proudly.

"Wonderful. Leave me alone," Ryuuken demanded, walking off.

Isshin growled before he went to find his gigai.

"Quincies are annoying sons of bitches."

As Ryuuken headed back to his room, he looked up at the sky.

"Shinigami really are worthless."

Ryuuken reached the room first and automatically headed to the shower. He had to wash off the stench of foolish, pathetic shinigami.

Isshin—in his gigai—marched into his bedroom and locked the door. Plopping down on his bed, he immediately went to sleep. He had to forget that stuck-up son of a Quincy.

* * *

It was the next day and the first day for classes. Ryuuken, being the great student that he was, obviously woke up early, got dressed and organized, ate breakfast, and headed to class an hour before it started, leaving plenty of time for questions and hopefully, a cup of coffee.

Isshin, being the not-so-great student that he was, obviously woke up late, got dressed but not organized, ate a piece of toast on the run, and headed to class about ten minutes after it started.

"Inihara Remi?" the teacher said.

"Present," a young woman with long blonde hair and piercing brown eyes said.

"Irie Taro?"

"Yeah," a young man with short black hair and his head on the desk said.

"Ishida Ryuuken?"

"Here," Ryuuken said, not looking up from his book.

"Kamishimeru Hitomi?"

"Yes, sensei," a young woman with curly blue hair and bright yellow eyes said.

"Kurosaki Isshin?"

Hearing that name, Ryuuken dropped his book on his desk.

'_Please tell me I didn't hear what I think I heard,'_ Ryuuken prayed.

"Kurosaki Isshin?"

'_I am not hearing Kajio-sensei correctly,'_ Ryuuken tried to reason.

"Kurosaki Isshin?"

'_He couldn't possibly be—'_

"I'm here!"

Ryuuken started to curse out every god or being that he could think of when he heard that. Looking up slowly, he sighed in defeat when Isshin bounced into the room happily.

"Sorry I'm late, sensei. My alarm clock didn't go off," Isshin laughed.

"Since it is the first day, I will not give you a punishment, but do not let it happen again," Kajio told him, checking Isshin present.

"It won't, I promise. I'm a good student. I swear," Isshin tried to reassure him.

"Fine, fine. Now, go take a seat by Ishida. He's the only one with white hair," Kajio added.

"Take a seat by...who now?" Isshin said as his eyes turned to the class.

Much to his displeasure, the asshole was there in all his silver-haired Quincyness.

"Uh-uh. No way. I will not sit next to that flippin' bastard!" Isshin declared.

Ryuuken merely stared at him before he adjusted his glasses, pissing Isshin off even further.

"You see?! He's so much of a bastard, he doesn't respond to me when I call him a bastard!" Isshin yelled.

"It's better if I don't. I've read that a child will only continue to act as such if you give them the attention," Ryuuken said, picking up his book.

"Asshole!" Isshin yelled.

"Kurosaki, sit down! I don't care what you two have been through, but it doesn't involve here," Kajio demanded, pointing to Isshin's table.

Isshin frowned before he sulked over to his seat. Did he mention that he hated the guy he was forced to sit by? The shinigami looked at the Quincy with hatred as the Quincy looked at the shinigami with distaste.

"I hate you," Isshin whispered.

"Like I care," Ryuuken whispered back.

Class was pretty uneventful after that. Well, unless you count the fact that they learned about the fascinating process of cell reproduction. When the class was over, the students all started to talk amongst themselves. Isshin looked at Ryuuken before he laughed.

"A bow and arrow? That is one of the wimpiest weapons in the universe."

A vein appeared on Ryuuken's forehead before he glared at the ex-shinigami.

"Of course you would say that. Any simpleton can swing a sword, but it takes a true genius to use the precision of a bow and arrow," Ryuuken shot back.

"A zanpakutou totally kicks a bow and arrow's ass. Bows and arrows don't have spirits that make you more powerful," Isshin bragged.

"Bows and arrows do not require spirits. Zanpakutou don't allow you to improve. If the sword is strong by itself, you don't have to be," Ryuuken retorted.

"Just because your zanpakutou is strong doesn't mean you aren't too. It expects as much from you as you do of it. Also, if you aren't strong, you can never achieve true levels of skill such as bankai, which varies greatly depending on the zanpakutou," Isshin reasoned.

"Nothing but flash. True power is your own. I could easily defeat any bankai," Ryuuken said smugly.

"Not mine," Isshin sneered.

"You're a captain? Wow, Soul Society is worse off than I thought," Ryuuken chuckled.

"Dick."

"Fool."

"Bastard."

"Mindless."

"Quincy bitch."

"Stupid ghoul."

"Pansy archer."

"Ignoramus."

The two glared daggers at each other before they looked away. Their classmates merely looked at them when they felt sparks of hatred coming forth. They had no idea what they were saying, but it wasn't good, apparently.

* * *

When it was time for the two to have lunch, both Isshin and Ryuuken decided it was a good idea to spend it in their room without thinking about the nuisance of the day. (A/N: Oh, how they wish.) Isshin arrived at the door and started to look for his key. At this time, Ryuuken rounded the corner with his key in his hand and was ready to go inside.

When he arrived at the door, he glared at Isshin who had stopped looking for his key to glare at him.

"Don't tell me you live on this floor," Isshin begged.

"I could but I'd be lying. Now, get away from my door," Ryuuken demanded.

Isshin was about to make a comeback before Ryuuken's comment hit him like a ton of bricks.

"This is…your door?" Isshin prayed that he wouldn't say…

"Yes. Move," Ryuuken ordered.

"This can't be your door."

"Why can't it?"

"…Because this is _my_ door."

Ryuuken's eyes widened as his key fell out of his hand. Isshin grabbed it and compared it with the key he had just found in his pocket. The shinigami and Quincy stared before Isshin screamed.

"They're the same!"

"You're my roommate?" Ryuuken hissed.

"No, no, no! I can't stand to have class with you. How am I supposed to share a room?!" Isshin complained.

"Well, I'm going to talk to the person in charge and demand a room change," Ryuuken told him, taking his key and marching off.

"Hey, I'm coming too!"

The two headed to the RA while sending brief glares to each other along the way. People they passed were going to greet them until they got close to them and sensed their disdain. They figured it wasn't a good idea to mess with them right now.

When the two arrived at the RA's office, Ryuuken knocked on it softly and got a muffled 'I'm busy, sorry' in response. Ryuuken glared at the door then looked at Isshin who was fuming.

"You son of a bitch!" Isshin yelled before kicking the door down. "We're coming in, like it or not!"

As unintelligent and uncouth as both the action and comment were, Ryuuken knew it had to be done. Luckily, it was done by Isshin so Ryuuken shouldn't get in trouble. When the door fell, Isshin and Ryuuken's eyes widened at what they saw. The RA—a really nerdy looking kid—was hugging a life-size doll of some magical princess chick. He blushed and Isshin began to laugh hysterically.

"Oh, man! You are such a nerd!"

Ryuuken adjusted his glasses and said nothing despite the fact that he was thinking the same thing. Still, this was to their advantage.

"Please. I beg you. Don't tell anyone," the RA pleaded.

"We won't if you change our rooms," Ryuuken told him.

Isshin stopped laughing when he heard that before he stood at attention and nodded.

"Yeah, you have to give me another roommate besides this guy," Isshin demanded.

"I…I can't. I don't control the dorm changes. The dean does and he never gives changes," the RA informed them.

Isshin and Ryuuken just stood there before Ryuuken sighed and began to leave. On the way out, he noted the bunch of rubber bands and pencils on a nearby desk. Quickly grabbing one of each, Ryuuken used the rubber band to fire a pencil which made its way straight through the doll's forehead. The doll deflated and the RA started screaming in despair.

Isshin couldn't believe what just happened. He didn't know how to respond. He could only stand there with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. He looked at the silver-haired Quincy who had left the room before he growled.

'_That son of a bitch! He thinks he's so cool! Well, he's not! I'll show him what happens to people that try to show me up!'_

Taking one last look at the mourning nerd, Isshin shook his head and went to catch up with his roommate. When he did, he slapped Ryuuken's back hard. Ryuuken stopped and glared at Isshin but was extremely surprised to see him smiling at him.

"Well, looks like you're stuck with me, Quincy," Isshin laughed.

"And that makes you happy?" Ryuuken truly questioned this shinigami's intelligence level.

"No, I would rather be grouped with Kurotsuchi. Note: Kurotsuchi is a totally freaky asshole," Isshin said, shivering at the memories of the 12th Division captain. "But we can't do anything about it. So, we might as well accept it."

"I don't believe it. You have a tolerance level higher than mine," Ryuuken stated. "Maybe you're not a _complete_ five-year old."

"Don't talk that way to me, _junior_. I've lived hundreds of years longer than you."

"And I'm still smarter and more mature than you. That's sad."

Isshin's eye twitched before he smirked evilly. Ryuuken raised an eyebrow as Isshin made a sign.

"Bakudo: Ichi. Sai."

Suddenly, Ryuuken's arms were tied behind his back by an invisible force and he fell to the ground. Ryuuken attempted to break free but the more he struggled, the more painful it became.

"What on Earth—?"

"You should be saying, 'what in Soul Society'. Kidou spells, very useful. Unlike you Quincies, we're not limited by lack of weapons," Isshin laughed.

"Release me now or you shall die…_again_," Ryuuken growled.

"Now, that was a low blow. How do you think I feel being dead? It's not all it's cracked up to be. You should see my friend Ukitake, captain of 13th Division. Guy has tuberculosis. Honestly, how does someone dead have tuberculosis?"

"This conversation would be much more stimulating if I could move."

Isshin just looked at him with one eye closed before he sighed. He made another sign and Ryuuken was released from the spell. Ryuuken glared at Isshin, who just looked back at him smugly.

"That's for trying to show me up with that rubber band and pencil, _Quincy_."

"Forgive me but it's just so easy, _shinigami_."

The two glared at each other until Ryuuken noticed the clock behind Isshin's head and gasped.

"We're late for class."

Isshin blinked and looked at his watch before he yelled. Both then bolted off while accusing each other for their tardiness. When they arrived at class, they quickly got yelled at by their teacher, Yurinuma.

"How dare you two be so late?! Honestly, young people today have no punctuality. Why, when I was your age…are you two listening?!"

No. No, they were not. They were too busy glaring at each other to care about her shrieking. Also, her shrieking gave them a headache.

"You two are to write 10,000 word essays due tomorrow on a doctor who you feel is a true inspiration! Do I make myself clear?!" Yurinuma yelled.

"Crystal!" Isshin shouted.

"Yes," Ryuuken growled.

"Now, sit down!"

The two did as they were told and class continued. While Ryuuken was taking down notes, a balled-up piece of paper landed on his desk. Ryuuken looked around discreetly before he slowly opened up the paper and read the atrocious handwriting.

'_**Yo, Quincy. I need an extra pen. Mine broke.'**_

Ryuuken stared at the letter for a while before he ripped it up and returned to his note-taking. A couple of minutes later, Ryuuken's hand stopped moving. As hard as he tried, Ryuuken couldn't get it to move. He looked behind him to see Isshin glaring at him.

"Give me a pen," Isshin whispered. "Or I won't release your hand."

Ryuuken glared at him for a while until he gave in and handed his extra pen to Isshin who took it and released Ryuuken's hand. When that was done, Ryuuken took no time in stabbing his pen into Isshin's hand.

"OW!" Isshin yelled and was met with a piece of chalk to the head.

"Kurosaki, you really like trying my patience! For that outburst, your essay will now be 100,000 words!" Yurinuma then picked up another piece of chalk and continued her lesson.

Isshin grumbled a few illogical words as he glared at Ryuuken's back. When class was over and after everyone had left, Isshin threw Ryuuken's pen at the back of his head.

"Thank you very much," Isshin muttered.

Ryuuken picked his pen up off of the ground with no response.

"…Who are you going to pick for your essay?" Isshin asked.

Still no response and Isshin huffed. He didn't understand why this Quincy didn't like him. He knew why he didn't like the Quincy because he was a total asshole and…Wait.

"How can you be alive?" Isshin wondered aloud.

"What?"

Isshin blinked and looked back at Ryuuken who was looking at him with a quizzical look. Oops, did he say that out loud?

"The shinigami killed the Quincy, didn't we?"

"My ancestor survived that slaughter and I inherited my powers from him," Ryuuken explained.

"So, is that why you hate me? Because—"

Ryuuken cut him off. "I don't care about something that happened between the shinigami and Quincy years ago. It does not concern me, especially since I do not want to be a Quincy," Ryuuken told him. "I just don't like you because you're a moron."

"Why don't you want to be a Quincy?" Isshin asked, completely ignoring the comment.

"Why don't you want to be a shinigami?" Ryuuken retorted.

"Who said I didn't want to be a shinigami? I love being a shinigami. I help so many people doing it. I just don't like living in Soul Society. Yamamoto-jiisama is a real tightass and I can't stand that."

"Then why don't you just continue to be a shinigami here? Why do you want to become a doctor?" Ryuuken didn't understand him. Nothing he said or did made any sense.

"I told you that already, but obviously you weren't listening. I will continue to be a shinigami here because the dead need help. Just because they're not of this world anymore…doesn't mean they don't deserve help if it can be offered," Isshin mused.

Ryuuken just sat there in shock. He couldn't believe it. The idiotic shinigami could sound insightful.

"As for becoming a doctor, even if it kind of goes against what we shinigami do, I want to help the people's souls _before_ they're souls. If they have a chance to live, I want to help them do that. If they do die, I will help them cross over."

Not knowing how to respond, Ryuuken just looked away as he adjusted his glasses.

"Is that why you want to be a doctor? Because you want to help people live their lives too?" Isshin questioned with a big smile.

"Partially," Ryuuken responded.

"And you're a Quincy so you want to help dead people as well and—"

"No, I don't," Ryuuken hissed.

"Huh?"

Ryuuken glared at Isshin behind his glasses and a gasp unintentionally slipped from Isshin. He had been glared at Ryuuken many times in the two days they had known each other but…never like this. This time, Ryuuken's glare actually frightened Isshin. He didn't know why but it did.

"I don't care about the dead. They're dead. They can't be helped. Who cares about them?" As Ryuuken spoke, his hands tightened into fists and his breathing became shallow.

Isshin couldn't believe what Ryuuken was saying. Who cared about them? There was no way he truly meant that.

"How can you—"

"Stop speaking. You're dead, as well. Stop trying to pretend as if you have an existence aside from a shinigami. Go back to Soul Society and stay there."

Isshin just looked at Ryuuken in surprise as a large stab of pain struck him in the heart. His face hardened and he grabbed Ryuuken by the collar.

"What did you say?! Don't act as though we dead don't have feelings! We laugh, cry, feel pain just as much as any living being! What gives you any right to say that about us?! _Why_ would you say that?! Why wouldn't you want to help the dead who used to be living people, just like you?!"

Ryuuken continued to glare at Isshin before he said the honest truth.

"Because there's no profit in it."

Isshin's eyes widened and his grip on Ryuuken's collar loosened. Ryuuken then ran off and left Isshin in a complete state of shock and…despair? Isshin didn't understand why but he truly felt sad, not just for himself, not just for the spirits Ryuuken had insulted…but for Ryuuken himself.

"How could anyone who has the ability to protect the dead say that?" Isshin asked, grabbing his things.

Just as he was about to leave, Isshin noticed Ryuuken's things on the desk. Isshin looked at them for a few seconds before he gathered them up and left the classroom.

Ryuuken continued to run. He didn't know where he was going or when he would stop. All he knew was that he just had to keep running. After a few minutes, Ryuuken fell to the ground in exhaustion. He looked around and noticed he was in an empty section of the campus. Taking in deep breaths, Ryuuken tried to push himself off the ground but grimaced in pain when he pressed his hands to the ground. Looking at his palms, Ryuuken could see them bloodstained.

"I tightened my fists too much. I need to get back to my room," Ryuuken whispered to himself.

Despite what he had just said, Ryuuken wasn't in any hurry to go back. He didn't understand why but he felt something. Some horrible feeling building up in his gut and it made him feel like throwing-up. Was it…guilt?

"No! I have nothing to be guilty over. I meant what I said and what I said was true. There is no reason for me to feel this way," Ryuuken said, getting off the ground and heading to his room. But if he meant what he said and if what he said was true, why wouldn't that feeling just leave him alone?

* * *

What do you think? I'm glad this was longer than the last one. Please review and let me know junk. Bai-Bai!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of my Isshin and Ryuuken fic. Hooray. Ryuuken got his own character selection thing. That makes things a lot easier. Disclaimer.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

* * *

Ryuuken arrived back at his room and was about to open the door when he realized that he'd dropped his key while he was running. Hitting his head on the door, Ryuuken let out an annoyed groan. When he heard the knob rattle, he moved away from the door as it opened. Isshin was standing in the doorway with a solemn expression on his face.

The two looked at each other for a while before Isshin shook his head and went back into the room, leaving the door open. Ryuuken walked into the room and closed the door. He looked over at Isshin, who was writing at the desk.

"Where is the first-aid kit?" Ryuuken asked.

Isshin didn't respond. He just continued to write. Ryuuken glared at him and Isshin spoke.

"Don't give me that look. The first-aid kit is in the kitchen."

Ryuuken didn't know how Isshin had seen his glare but decided that it didn't matter. He walked over to the kitchen and grabbed the first-aid kit with his bleeding hand. Isshin stopped writing and looked at Ryuuken, noticing his hands.

"Do you want any help…even if it's from someone who no one cares about?" Isshin asked.

"Why would you want to help me after what I said?"

"Because I'm a better person, despite the fact that I'm dead."

Ryuuken didn't say anything, but Isshin was taking it as a yes. Isshin got up from his seat and walked over to Ryuuken. Opening the first-aid kit, Isshin took out a few things and began to clean Ryuuken's wound.

"You should be more careful," Isshin suggested.

Ryuuken said nothing, just winced at having his wounds touched. When Isshin was finished cleaning and bandaging his hands, he put the things back in the kit and returned it to its spot.

"You think you'll be okay to write your essay?" Isshin asked.

Ryuuken began to move his hands as if he was typing, then nodded.

"Good. I'm almost done myself," Isshin said, heading back to his paper.

"You're almost done? You do remember that yours was risen to 100,000 words, don't you?" Ryuuken questioned.

"Yes, I remember, since it was all your fault. I did a lot more paperwork in Soul Society. Captains do a lot of paperwork. Also, I knew exactly who to write about," Isshin told him.

"Who?"

"Unohana Retsu."

"Wasn't she the doctor who saved 2,000 patients from one accident 400 years ago?"

"428 years."

"How do you know that?"

"Unohana Retsu? Captain of fourth division, our healing division."

"She's a shinigami?" Ryuuken was in shock. The famous Unohana Retsu was a shinigami captain now?

"Yeah, and she heals all of the shinigami of Soul Society when we risk our lives saving the dead."

Ryuuken looked down before he sighed.

"I'm sorry for what I said," Ryuuken muttered.

Isshin stopped writing and looked at Ryuuken. Ryuuken just looked at him and Isshin could tell—despite the coldness—that his eyes held true sincerity and he was actually sorry for what he had said.

"But you still meant it, didn't you?" Isshin asked.

"Part of it. Part of it was merely said in anger," Ryuuken said.

"Which part was said in anger?" Isshin questioned.

"…The part where I said that no one cares for the dead."

"So, you really meant what you said. You don't want to be a Quincy because there's no profit in it?"

"That I truly meant."

"Asshole!" Isshin yelled, standing up. "How can you be so cold?! You don't want to help people just because you don't gain any money in it?!"

"Exactly," Ryuuken stated.

Isshin shook his head and put his hand on Ryuuken's shoulder.

"There is a profit in helping the dead. It may not be money but you do gain a profit," Isshin said, putting a hand to his heart. "You gain something in here. It makes you feel good, and trust me, you need to gain that something."

"…No."

Isshin looked at him in surprise before he did something that truly shocked Ryuuken: he started laughing.

"Is there a reason for you laughing?" Ryuuken wondered.

"Yeah, there is! You're a total idiot!" Isshin laughed.

Ryuuken walked past Isshin to his bedroom and came back with his laptop. Setting it across from Isshin's papers, Ryuuken sat down and began to start his computer up.

"Ooh, that's a comper, right?!" Isshin squealed as he gazed at Ryuuken's laptop with bright eyes.

"A computer?"

"Yeah, that! It's so cool-looking! Can I touch it?!" Isshin shouted.

Ryuuken just raised an eyebrow and held up his hand, meaning 'be my guest'. Isshin slowly brought his finger to the laptop and gently touched it with his index finger.

"Whoa. It feels so weird," Isshin determined.

"You are deprived in Soul Society, aren't you?" Ryuuken asked.

"We don't have these things in Soul Society. Soul Society is pretty much feudal Japan, aside from our cellphones. This is one of the reasons I like coming here. I get to see how different your world is from ours," Isshin explained.

Ryuuken let out a 'hmm' as he began to type. He typed for a few seconds but stopped. It was really difficult to type when Isshin was staring at him.

"What do you want?"

"So, you press those buttons and words appear on the computer?"

"That's the gist of it," Ryuuken said.

"How does it work?" Isshin wanted to know everything about the magic flat box thing that made words.

"It'd take too long to explain it to you and you know it," Ryuuken decided as he started typing again.

"Yeah, you're probably right. So, tell me about guns. We don't have guns," Isshin said.

"Guns fire tiny and hard pieces of metal at people very fast and are very painful and deadly. You need to know about that so you can treat the wounds people can get from guns these days."

"Got it," Isshin chuckled as he walked back over to his paper. "So, who are you writing about? Anyone I know?"

"Considering how you know Unohana Retsu, I wouldn't be too surprised. His name's Takahito Satoshi," Ryuuken said.

"Hmm…Satoshi, Satoshi, Satoshi. Nope. Don't know him. What did he do?"

"He saved himself and fifty patients from a disease that no one else had any idea how to cure," Ryuuken informed.

"Cool," Isshin said.

The two then began to finish their papers in silence when a loud roar interrupted them.

"Woo-hoo, Hollows!" Isshin cheered.

"Have fun."

"Aren't you coming?" Isshin asked, standing up.

"Nope, have to finish." Ryuuken waved his hand and Isshin pouted. He wanted Ryuuken to come. He really wanted to build a friendship with him.

'_Because if I build a friendship with him, he'll listen to my ideas of becoming a Quincy and helping the dead. He'll realize that helping the dead is a great thing. Eh, I'll work on that later,'_ Isshin thought as he went to go get his sword.

A few minutes passed and Ryuuken hadn't moved from his spot. He continued typing when Isshin came back to his spot.

"Hey, man, how's it going?" Isshin laughed.

"Eh," Ryuuken responded.

Isshin grinned before he lay his head down on the desk and fell asleep. The next morning, Isshin awoke to a loud beeping sound in his ear.

"What the fuck?!"

Isshin looked over and saw Ryuuken standing beside him, holding a clock.

"Morning. Coffee?" Ryuuken said, holding up a pot.

"Uh…sure. What was that loud sound that was in my ears?" Isshin asked as Ryuuken poured the coffee.

"You used the excuse yesterday and you don't even know what an alarm clock is?"

"I've never seen or used one, but I've heard of them. Didn't know they were so annoying." Ryuuken handed Isshin the coffee cup. "Thanks."

"Class begins in an hour. Get ready," Ryuuken ordered, putting the coffee down.

Isshin began to drink the coffee before he realized something.

"You woke me up."

"My god. You're a genius," Ryuuken replied sarcastically.

"You woke me up because you didn't want me to be late. You wanna be my friend!" Isshin declared.

"No, I just didn't—" Ryuuken was cut off by Isshin hugging him.

"I'm so happy, Quincy Archer! You're not a total asshole!" Isshin cheered.

Ryuuken blinked before he lifted up his mug and smashed it on Isshin's head. Isshin fell to the ground, clutching his poor head before he looked up at Ryuuken.

"What was that for?"

"Two things. One: I only woke you up because I owed you for yesterday. Two: _Never_ hug me…and what is 'Quincy Archer'?"

"You're a Quincy. You're an archer. Therefore, you are Quincy Archer," Isshin reasoned.

"…Never call me that," Ryuuken demanded.

"But I gotta give you some kind of nickname since we're friends now."

"We're friends?"

"Sure!"

Ryuuken looked at his broken mug. He had never had a friend before. People were turned away by either his coldness or his intelligence. Was he really ready for his first friend, especially when his first friend was such an idiot? Well, might be an interesting experiment.

"Wait. How can we be friends? We've never even called each other by our family names, let alone given names," Ryuuken said.

"Oh, yeah. You got a point there. Well, then, let's start, Ishida!"

Ryuuken blinked before he walked off. Isshin just sat on the ground and waited for a while before he rubbed his sore head again.

"Dammit. That hurt. Good thing I have a thick skull," Isshin muttered right before a book bag was thrown at him. "What the fuck?!"

"You say that a lot," Ryuuken informed, heading for the door. "Let's be on our way, Kurosaki."

Isshin just looked at him, then gave an excited yell and ran towards the door.

"Ishida, I swear that we're gonna be best friends!"

Ryuuken rolled his eyes as he closed the door. The two headed to class and upon entering, everyone was shocked to see them coming in together and not killing each other.

"What about cars? What's the big deal about them?" Isshin asked as he took his seat.

"They're very fast, but most people here in Japan take the subway," Ryuuken answered, sitting down.

"And the subway is a…?"

"It's a train that…It's a big metal snake-like thing that people sit inside of. It moves quickly underground to different places within a city."

"Whoa. What about—"

"Alright, class! Let's begin!" Kajio yelled, upon entering the classroom.

Kajio was about to start talking about blood vessels when he noticed Isshin and Ryuuken sitting beside each other peacefully.

"Okay, what's up with you two?" Kajio asked.

Isshin and Ryuuken blinked before they looked around and became aware of everyone staring at them.

"Ya talking to us?" Isshin said.

"No, I'm talking to the spirits hovering above you," Kajio joked. "Of course I'm talking to you!"

Neither commented on that. Instead, Isshin started to laugh while Ryuuken shook his head. Everyone was truly confused by this, but that was only because they weren't them. They didn't know that there actually were spirits hovering above the two. It was really funny.

"We were never that way during class, were we?" the female spirit asked.

"No. I can't understand what's so funny. It's not like they can see us," the male spirit responded.

"Will you get rid of them?" Ryuuken whispered.

"I can't do that right now. I don't have my zanpakutou. I'll take care of them later," Isshin whispered as his laughter ceased.

Everyone else just decided to drop the subject completely. It was far too strange for them. Class began, people learned things….et cetera.

* * *

"Come on, Ishida! Let's go off campus and get lunch! I'm hungry and I wanna ride the subway!" Isshin shouted as he chased after his new friend.

"No, you don't. Trust me," Ryuuken said.

"Well, is there anywhere around here to eat that I wouldn't have in Soul Society that doesn't involve the subway?"

"You know what a McDonald's is?"

"…A farmer," Isshin answered, happy that he remembered the old Western song.

"…I credit you on knowing that much, but no. Come on. I'll buy you a cheeseburger," Ryuuken offered, going in another direction.

"Really?!" Isshin put his arm around Ryuuken. "Ishida, I swear you are my new best friend!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ryuuken muttered, attempting to pry Isshin's arm off.

Unbeknownst to them, their actions had been seen by Hitomi and a group of her friends, who just so happened to make up the university's Yaoi Forever Club.

"Hey, I thought those two hated each other," one of the girls said.

"Maybe…it was a ruse so no one would know…" Hitomi stopped there as various images of the shinigami and Quincy entered all of the girls' minds. All of the girls squealed before Hitomi held up her hand. "We must follow them and see if their love is true!"

"Yeah!"

Inside the McDonald's, Ryuuken was having a very difficult time trying to keep Isshin down. Isshin had jumped over the counter to look at all of the fast-food-making items. The employees attempted to stop him, but you can guess how well that went. A bunch of them tackled him at once and he easily threw them off of him.

Suddenly, the manager came and they were sure that he could save them. The manager used to be a bodybuilding champion before becoming the manager of the McDonald's.

"What are you doing back here?" he growled.

"Oh, hey. Just checking out all of your cool things. What's this do?" Isshin asked as he touched the greaser before he removed his hand. "Shit! That's hot! What the fuck is it?!"

"I don't know who you are but you're getting out of here, now!"

Isshin didn't hear the manager because he was too busy tending to his poor burnt finger. The manager's temper finally got the best of him and he grabbed Isshin's arm. Isshin—out of reflex—elbowed him in the stomach and threw him over his shoulder into the wall.

Everyone just stared in shock at what Isshin had done while Ryuuken shook his head.

"I don't know him," Ryuuken told the cashier.

"Uh…Ishida?"

"I don't know you," Ryuuken said, walking off.

"Am I gonna get in trouble?" Isshin asked as he hopped over the counter.

"Yes. You'll probably get expelled."

"Well, we can't have that. Memory erasing time!" Isshin declared.

"Memory—?"

Ryuuken couldn't finish his sentence because of a bright light blinding him. When the light disappeared, Ryuuken rubbed his poor eyes and shook his head.

"What? Where am I?"

"McDonald's."

Ryuuken looked at Isshin who was smiling happily at him.

"When did we get here?" Ryuuken couldn't remember traveling to McDonald's. Last thing he remembered was…Wait. What _was_ the last thing he remembered?

"Come on! I wanna cheeseburger," Isshin whined.

"Okay, okay. We'll get you a cheeseburger if you can tell me when we got here."

"Oh, minutes ago, but the floor was slippery and you fell down and hit your head. I was so worried," Isshin said. He was really good at acting.

Ryuuken rubbed his head as he pondered that. He did have a slight headache, but since when was he ever that clumsy? Something didn't add up, and he had a strong suspicion that Isshin had something to do with it.

'_I'll just figure it out later.'_

Hitomi and her group finally got to the McDonald's after the memory erasing incident. The girls looked in the window and giggled when they saw their targets eating and conversing.

"I can't hear them," one of the girls complained. "What are they saying?"

"I'm not sure but…look!" Hitomi shouted.

All the girls gasped when they saw Ryuuken hold out a spoonful of ice cream and Isshin eat it.

"Oh my god, they really are a couple," one girl squealed.

"Ladies, we have just met our newest idols," Hitomi chuckled. "Let's head back and get started on publication."

All of the girls nodded and followed their leader back to the university. In reality, Isshin and Ryuuken had been talking about Soul Society.

"There is this guy who I seriously never trusted when I was back home," Isshin told Ryuuken before he took a bite of his cheeseburger. "There was just something about him. He seemed really nice, but every time I looked in his eyes, no matter what he was doing, I could see pure _evil_."

"Are you sure you weren't just jealous of him and tried to find a way to get him in trouble?" Ryuuken assumed, holding out a spoon of vanilla ice cream.

Isshin just stared at him for a while before he ate the ice cream off Ryuuken's spoon. Ryuuken looked at his now-empty spoon before he glared at the former shinigami. He threw the spoon at Isshin who caught it in his hand.

"Now, now, don't get grumpy."

Ryuuken said nothing as he got up and headed to the counter. A few seconds later, he came back with a new spoon.

"Now, to answer your question. No, I did not just want to get him in trouble. I swear he tried to look innocent, but that Aizen guy was pure evil. If you pay close attention, you can see it in his eyes," Isshin insisted.

"Why did you pay close attention?"

"Shut up. I pay close attention to everyone. I always want to know how a person really feels and what they really think. I make sure to always know when people plan to betray me."

"Then why didn't you stay in Soul Society and protect it?" Ryuuken wondered.

"Because no one believed me. I tried to warn people about what I thought, and they all thought I was jealous because I wasn't as popular or powerful as Aizen," Isshin grumbled, taking another bite of his cheeseburger. "I don't care about being powerful or popular. My division respected me and that's all I needed."

"So, what will you do if Aizen does betray Soul Society?" Ryuuken took another bite of ice cream. "Do you plan to let them fend for themselves?"

"Eh, if he betrays them, I'll see how well they handle it by themselves. Then I'll laugh in their faces, saying, 'Told you'," Isshin laughed.

His laughter was stopped by a spoonful of ice cream hitting him in the face. Isshin's mouth gaped open and he stared at the Quincy just sitting there, eating his ice cream as thought he had done nothing.

"…And _I'm_ immature?" Isshin questioned.

"Yes, you are. Your immaturity is also contagious, like the flu," Ryuuken replied.

"Which kind?"

"Doesn't matter. You're a virus all your own."

Laughing, Isshin cleaned himself up before he returned to his cheeseburger. The two finished up at McDonald's and went back to the university. When they arrived, a group of guys came up to them.

"Yo, Kurosaki, Ishida!" one of them shouted. "We're having a party in my dorm room tonight. Be there."

"Okay," Isshin answered. He had never been to a party for minors. It was probably better and calmer since they couldn't drink.

"I have homework," Ryuuken told them.

"No, you don't. We just have to read chapter 3, 4, and 5 and you read those already," Isshin said.

"Kurosaki?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't go to sleep tonight because if you do, you will end up as a pincushion in the morning."

"Then you two are coming to my party and I'm not taking no for an answer. Later!"

The group of boys left as the Hollow slayers remained in their spot. Ryuuken looked around for a second and when he was sure no one was around, he smacked Isshin upside his head.

"Ow!" Isshin moaned, rubbing his poor head. "Why do you keep hitting me?"

"Two reasons. One: You deserve it and two: you deserve it," Ryuuken answered, walking off.

* * *

Now we close in on our Yaoi Forever Club, where one of the girls makes a shocking revelation.

"Oh no!"

"What's wrong, Haruka?" the vice-president, Hotaru, asked.

Haruka turned away from her laptop. "We don't have any pictures to put with our article," she whined.

All of the girls gasped and started crying.

"Now we have no way of spreading the great love of Ryuusshin!"

Suddenly, the door slammed open. "My yaoi-loving sisters! Do not despair! I have brought hope!"

Turning to their newfound ray of light, all of the girls' eyes fell upon the proud figure of their president.

"Big news," Hitomi giggled as a devilish smirk came upon her face. "I just found out that our Ryuusshin couple will be heading to a party in dorm room 203."

You wouldn't have wanted to see the evil grins that appeared on all of their faces or the demonic gleams in their eyes that would have put Aizen to shame.

"Ladies…failure is not an option."

* * *

"Woo-hoo! Let's get this party started! Let's get this party started!"

Isshin was shouting this as he danced on a table like a drunken idiot…which he was. Almost everyone in the room was cheering him on, except for the lone sober Quincy who sat in a corner, drinking a cup of coffee.

'_If I'm very quiet, I should be able to sneak out while they're all drunk,'_ Ryuuken thought as he scooted to the door.

"Where ya goin'?"

"…I hate you so much," Ryuuken said, turning around. "You know that, right?"

Isshin stuck out his tongue. "I had no idea. Seriously, where are you going? Aren't ya havin' fun?"

"Do I look like I'm having fun?"

"Not really, but then again, I don't know what your idea of fun is. What do you do for fun?"

"Weren't you a drunken mess ten seconds ago?"

"Please, junior. I can handle my alcohol." Isshin proved his point by downing an entire bottle of sake. "I've spent centuries doing that. We rarely party in Soul Society, but when we do, it's big, baby."

"…Fascinating," Ryuuken droned.

"Still, I expected it to be a lot calmer. Aren't you all underage?"

"Yes."

"Why are they drinking?" Isshin asked.

"Because they're morons," Ryuuken responded.

"Who isn't a moron to you?" Isshin questioned.

Ryuuken got up and put his mug down. "…Excellent question. I'll get back to you when I have an answer. I'm going back to our room."

"You're not going anywhere, Ishida!"

Ryuuken was grabbed by his collar and pulled back. Before he could yell, a bottle of sake was poured down his gullet. Isshin watched in shock as the young Quincy was force-fed (force-drunk? force-drank?) sake against his will. When the bottle was empty, Ryuuken was released and dropped to the ground.

"Ishida!" Isshin ran to his fallen new friend's side and began to shake him. "Are you alive?! Is your liver fine?! Speak to me!"

"Mama, can I have a cookie?" Ryuuken slurred.

"Oh, fuck. Ishida, we should get you back to the dorm and—"

"What?! But we were just having fun!" Ryuuken stood up and grabbed another bottle. "Come on, bitches! Let's get dancin'!"

The room erupted into chaos at that and they began to tear the place apart. Isshin didn't do anything. He couldn't do anything but sit down and watch them party worse than his shinigami friends.

"Note to self: Never let Ishida get drunk again. He is gonna have the mother of all hangovers when he wakes up tomorrow," Isshin chuckled.

"Hey, everybody!" Isshin looked up and saw Ryuuken standing on the table. "Who wants to see something awesome?!"

"We do!" all the others cheered.

Ryuuken held out his Quincy Pentacle and Isshin gasped. "Ishida, no!"

Just as Ryuuken was about to bring out his bow, he was tackled to the ground by Isshin. Isshin was about to give Ryuuken the scolding of his life when Ryuuken grabbed him into a hug.

"Oh, Kuro-kun, I love you," Ryuuken gushed. "You're my best friend ever!"

"Ishida, let me go because I am extremely uncomfortable right now," Isshin demanded, trying to get out of Ryuuken's grip.

"No! Don't leave me!" Ryuuken pleaded, holding on even tighter.

"Ishida, we're on the ground, I'm on top of you, and you're hugging me. Isn't there at least one thing wrong with that?"

"Yes…" Ryuuken then flipped Isshin over. "Much better. I belong on top!"

"That's where I draw the line!" Isshin shouted.

Isshin made a sign and said the incantation before everyone in the room fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Slinging Ryuuken over his shoulder, Isshin headed to the door. He was surprised to see a couple of girls knocked out in the hallway.

"I don't know my own strength."

Isshin ignored the girls and went to his room. Upon entering, he threw Ryuuken on the couch.

"I'll pick him up later," Isshin mumbled before he fell to the ground and passed out.

The next morning, Isshin woke up to the sound of painful groaning.

"My head."

Isshin looked over at the cause before he chuckled. There was Ryuuken, lying on the couch with a hand over his face.

"It's called a hangover. It's what people, who never drink, like you, get when they drink a whole hell of a lot," Isshin snickered.

"Stop yelling," Ryuuken ordered with his raspy voice.

"I'm not yelling. I'm not even talking loud."

"Be quiet," Ryuuken groaned.

Isshin sighed before he headed over to the kitchen. After checking the cabinets, Isshin was happy to see all the needed ingredients for his patented Get-Over-Your-Hangover Drink! What was in it? You don't want to know. Did it work? Let's just say the first time his subordinate drank twenty bottles of sake in one gulp, Isshin gave him this and he was ready for work in twenty minutes. Which was a good thing because they only had thirty minutes to get to class.

Isshin finished making the drink and handed it to Ryuuken, who was still lying on the couch.

"Drink. Don't ask what's in it if you don't want to be scarred for life."

Groaning, Ryuuken grabbed the drink and swallowed it. His eyes opened wide and he was about to throw it up when Isshin forced his mouth close.

"We have class in thirty minutes. If you don't want to either miss it or go and try to learn with that hangover of yours, you will swallow."

Ryuuken gave Isshin the best drunken glare he could before he swallowed the drink. Isshin released him and Ryuuken began to cough loudly.

"My mouth is on fire and it feels slimy."

"Oh, yeah, that'll go away in a couple of minutes," Isshin laughed, heading to his bedroom.

Ryuuken just stayed in that spot while Isshin did his best to get all of their stuff in order. Twenty minutes passed and Ryuuken shot up. Grasping his head in shock, Ryuuken let out a relieved sigh. He couldn't believe it. It actually worked.

"Glad you're feeling better." Ryuuken looked up to see Isshin holding their bags. "Get ready. We gotta be in class in ten minutes."

"That's more than enough time for me," Ryuuken said before he ran off.

Isshin watched in shock as the blur of a Quincy moved from bedroom to bathroom back to bedroom to kitchen and then to his side. Looking at his watch, Isshin let out a low whistle.

"Six minutes. I'm impressed."

"You should be. Let's go." Just as Ryuuken grabbed his bag, a thought popped into his brain. "For the record, did I do something really stupid?"

"No…"

Ryuuken let out a sigh of relief.

"You did a whole lot of things really stupid."

The relief left as quickly as it came.

"Luckily, everyone was probably so drunk they didn't notice."

"One can only hope." And with that they left.

The two came into the classroom and were very confused when a lot of people were avoiding their gazes.

"There they are."

"So, it is true."

"I don't believe it."

"What are you all whispering about?" Ryuuken growled.

Everyone said nothing. They just turned their heads away from him. This succeeded in pissing both Hollow slayers off.

"You bastards better start answering us or—"

"Alright, alright, alright! Everybody, sit down!" Kajio shouted as he entered the room.

The Hollow slayers did as they were told. Kajio began to teach while the shinigami and Quincy tried to listen, but it was very difficult with all of the whispering still going on.

Kajio finally noticed it. "Look, I know you all read the paper and are in shock or just don't like it, but you're interrupting my class!"

"Whoa, what was in the paper and what did it have to do with us?!" Isshin bellowed.

Hitomi got up from her seat, then handed her newspaper to Isshin with a giggle. Both Isshin and Ryuuken looked at the paper and gasped. On the front page was a picture of Ryuuken on top of Isshin. Underneath it in bold letters was: **'The couple of the century! Behold the greatness of Ishida Ryuuken and Kurosaki Isshin! Best known as Ryuusshin!'**

"I don't know what upsets me most: the fact that we've become loved by yaoi lovers, the fact that this _lie_ was printed in the paper and everyone knows about it…or the fact that _you're_ the seme. I'm obviously supposed to be seme."

"I can't believe you actually care about that," Ryuuken growled. He stood up and glared at Hitomi. "How dare you print this?!"

"But it was cute! We couldn't let this escape!" Hitomi cried.

"But it's a lie! Ishida here got totally drunk off his rocker!"

"We're honestly supposed to believe that the stuck-up geek got drunk?" Taro said.

"It wasn't my fault. A certain _someone_…" Ryuuken turned to glare at the man who had shoved sake down his throat, "…decided to try and give me alcohol poisoning."

"Look, you all can discuss this _after_ my class!"

Isshin and Ryuuken sat back down and Kajio resumed his teachings.

* * *

The rest of the day, Isshin and Ryuuken were forced to suffer from insults, annoying stares, and evil yaoi fangirls. It wasn't a good day.

"This can't be happening. Someone tell me this isn't happening," Ryuuken pleaded into his pillow.

"Yaoi fangirls…we have them back home, but _I_ was never one of their subjects. I didn't know they could be this evil," Isshin sighed before he drank his sake. This was one of those many times where he wished he could actually get drunk.

"Well, since this is all your fault—"

Isshin cut him off. "How is this my fault? You're the one who got drunk and decided to go all 'Kuro-kun, I love you' on me!"

"I wouldn't have even been there if not for you!" Ryuuken yelled.

"Oh, please. You should be thanking me. You need more human interaction," Isshin chuckled.

A glowing blue arrow narrowly missed Isshin's face. Isshin screamed just as a bunch of other arrows were shot at him.

"Oops. My finger slipped."

"Liar!"

"You should be _thanking_ me. You need more training."

"Oh, I'll show you more training. I'm gonna go bankai on your ass!"

"Look, for once, this isn't the time for us to be fighting with each other. We need to think, no matter how difficult it is for you, and figure out a way to make this all disappear. I just wish everyone could forget this."

A light bulb appeared over Isshin's head. Rushing into his bedroom, Isshin began to look through all of his junk. Once he found what he was looking for, he ran back to Ryuuken.

"Okay, you remember yesterday when we went to McDonald's and you had no idea what was happening?" Isshin asked.

"Yes." Ryuuken was curious as to where he was going with this.

"Well, you didn't fall and hit your head. I erased your memory with…this!"

Isshin brought out a strange little device that caused Ryuuken to raise an eyebrow.

"And that is?"

"A memory eraser. It's standard shinigami equipment. I brought it with me just in case of an emergency and—"

Isshin was silenced by Ryuuken, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him senseless.

"This _is_ an emergency!"

* * *

No one knew who did it, but everyone had been called for a meeting in the auditorium. Isshin walked onto the stage and began to tap the microphone.

"Hello, Karakura! Kurosaki Isshin is here!"

Everyone began to get mad, wondering what he had up his sleeve, until they were all blinded by a flash of light. Once the light was gone, Isshin had left the stage while everyone else began to ask things like, 'Where am I?' and 'What's going on?'

"How far did you erase their memories?"

"A day. Any longer and it could be fatal, and just in case the yaoi girls remember…"

Ryuuken brought out a strand of negatives then destroyed it with an arrow.

Isshin chuckled. "Where's the proof?"

* * *

Whoo. They narrowly escaped that one. What other trials and tribulations will these two have to face? Find out in the next exciting chapter of Life during Death!


	4. Chapter 4

...Heh heh. I know it's been a while, hasn't it? ...I have no real excuse but I have a chapter and it's pretty good and long. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

* * *

"Come on! I want you to meet a friend of mine!"

Ryuuken reluctantly let Isshin drag him to some unknown place. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it couldn't be good. Isshin stopped dragging Ryuuken when they arrived at what appeared to be a shack.

"Your friend's poor?"

"No…at least I don't think so. Urahara!"

The front door slid open and out came a lone figure.

"What are you doing here, Isshin?"

Ryuuken's jaw dropped as Isshin huffed.

"I wasn't calling for you…Neko-_sama_," Isshin sneered.

Ryuuken looked at the dark-haired shinigami before he took another look at the figure. Standing in the doorway was a…cat…a black cat…that spoke. The cat turned its nose up to Isshin when it noticed the man standing beside him.

"…Meow?"

"I heard you speak," Ryuuken said, grabbing his head. "I just wish I wouldn't have."

"This is my new friend, Ishida Ryuuken. He's a Quincy!"

"A Quincy?!" This shocked the cat to no end. There were still Quincy alive?

"I'm not a Quincy. I'm just the son of one. I will be a doctor. Now, why is the cat speaking?"

"You've never met a talking cat before?" Isshin asked.

"They don't really live on the street, like normal cats," Ryuuken responded.

"I come from Soul Society. My name is Shihouin Yoruichi. Nice to meet you, Ryuuken," Yoruichi greeted him.

"So…are you a shinigami?"

"I was."

"…So…cats can be shinigami?"

"It's a lot easier when I transform back to my true form," Yoruichi chuckled.

"Oh, so the cat isn't really a cat. That's just perfect." Why did shinigami have to be so aggravating?

"Is he always this annoying?" Yoruichi directed the question to Isshin.

"No, actually, you caught him on a good day," Isshin laughed.

"What's all the commotion?" said a voice from inside.

"Yo, Urahara!"

A blonde man wearing sandals and a bucket hat came out of the shack and fanned himself.

"Isshin, how are ya? Who's your friend?" the man asked.

"This is Ishida Ryuuken. He's a Quincy."

"Not a Quincy."

"A Quincy in denial, then," Isshin joked.

"I didn't know there were Quincy left," the man said.

"His ancestor survived the slaughter, but he doesn't hate us for it."

"I don't care about it." Ryuuken then pulled Isshin's cheek. "Introductions?"

"Ow. Oh, yeah, Ishida, meet Urahara Kisuke, former captain of 12th division."

"Pleasure to meet ya," Urahara laughed.

"Okay. Why are you and the cat here? Why are you shinigami so annoying?"

"You're one to talk," Yoruichi hissed.

"A little…mishap back home. So, we escaped here with a bunch of other shinigami."

Ryuuken's blood ran cold at the solemnity his tone held. What truly went on in that…Soul Society?

"So…you two are criminals?" Urahara and Yoruichi nodded. "You found them here?" Isshin nodded. "Why didn't you turn them in?"

"Because they're not evil."

"Explanation?"

"Remember what we were talking about at McDonald's?"

"About that guy you hate?"

"Yeah, he betrayed his captain and hurt a bunch of others and Urahara took the blame. He proved what I already knew: Aizen is evil."

"So why—"

Isshin finished for him. "—didn't I tell anyone? Because Aizen is a really smart son-of-a-bitch and Yama-jii is a stuck-up son-of-a-bitch. Aizen would find a way to prove me wrong while Yama-jii would just never listen to me."

"So…Soul Society sucks."

"Basically," all three former shinigami said.

"Where are the others?"

"Don't know, but they'll show themselves…sooner or later," Urahara chuckled.

Ryuuken grabbed his head in exasperation. "I pray I'm not around when they do."

"They're not that bad, I assure you," Urahara told him, but that did nothing to help Ryuuken.

"So…how did you all meet each other?"

"Well, it was two long weeks ago," Isshin sighed as the memory came back.

-

_Isshin was on a mission in Karakura. He had to chase after a string of Hollows that had been causing a ruckus. Truth? He took care of that days ago. Now, he was just goofing off. So, what was there to do?_

_Isshin stopped when he came across a small store. Tilting his head, Isshin decided to enter. When he did, there was no one there, but there was plenty of shinigami equipment._

"_Mod souls. Memory erasers. What on Earth?" How did all this get here?_

"_May I help you?"_

_Isshin swiftly turned around to see a blond man with a bucket hat coming up from a hole in the floor. The man looked at Isshin and grinned._

"_Urahara Kisuke, shop proprietor. Nice to meet you."_

"_Wait a minute…as in the former 12__th__ division captain?!" _

_Urahara gulped. Oh, crap. "You're a shinigami?"_

"_Wait a minute. You've been gone for decades. How come no one has found you?"_

"_Uh…you seem like a reasonable shinigami, which is very rare. Would you like a cup of tea?"_

"_Got any sake?" Isshin asked as though he wasn't talking to a criminal from Soul Society._

"_Sorry. Fresh out," Urahara sighed._

"_Okay, tea will do."_

_Urahara made the tea, and when the two were settled, Urahara explained the whole Aizen betrayal situation. When he was finished, he waited for Isshin to say something like, 'You honestly expect me to believe that Aizen-taichou would do such a thing? I'm taking you in, criminal, and all the rest.'_

"_I knew that bastard was evil." Urahara blinked in shock. He looked at Isshin, who had finished his tea. "I just saw it. Thank you for proving me right."_

_Urahara let out a relieved laugh. "So, you're not going to turn me in?"_

"_On one condition."_

_Urahara raised his eyebrow before Isshin smiled._

"_Got any more of those untraceable gigai?"_

-

"Wow." That was all Ryuuken could say. After all, it wasn't every day that he found a person who found a criminal who had been on the run for decades and just asked him for a favor.

"So, you two want to come in? Grab a cup of tea?" Urahara offered.

"Sure, we got nothing better to do," Isshin said.

"Eh."

"Great." Urahara looked at Yoruichi. "Yourichi-san, please turn human so Isshin-kun's friend won't complain about you drinking tea like a cat."

"Fine. I'll go get my clothes," Yoruichi growled, slinking into the shop.

"I hate shinigami," Ryuuken muttered.

"Oh, Quincy Archer hates us," Urahara cried.

Ryuuken looked at him in shock then looked at Isshin, who shook his head.

"He didn't even know about you," Isshin chuckled.

"So…it's just a shinigami thing to make stupid nicknames?"

"It's not stupid. You're a Quincy and an arch—"

"No. Stop."

Urahara looked at Isshin for an explanation. "Did I do something?"

"I called him that a while back. He doesn't like it. I don't know why."

Urahara shrugged his shoulders as he walked into the store. Following, Isshin grabbed Ryuuken and dragged him in. While Urahara made the tea, Yoruichi came in the kitchen as a clothed human.

"Happy?" she mumbled.

"Very," Urahara laughed.

"Oh, so it was a girl," Ryuuken sighed.

Yoruichi hissed at him before she took a seat at the table. Urahara finished the tea, then took a seat as well.

"So…how's school?" he asked.

"It's okay. Could be better, right, Ishida?"

Ryuuken said nothing. He merely drank his tea. Yoruichi looked at him for a while until she had had enough.

"I can't take it. What is with you?" Ryuuken pointed to himself and Yoruichi nodded. "You're the type of guy that really ticks me off. You know that?"

"Don't care."

Yoruichi's hair began to stand on end when Urahara placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Now, now, Yoruichi-san, give him a while. If he's stuck with Isshin, you know he can't stay like that forever."

Isshin raised his right hand. "I promise to change him from the total asshole that he is now."

"I promise not to change because I see no reason why I should change for you guys."

"Change him quickly," Yoruichi demanded.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Where's the bathroom?" Ryuuken asked, standing up.

"Down the hall," Urahara said.

Ryuuken left the room and went to the bathroom to do his business. When he was done, he walked back to the kitchen but stopped before he got to the doorway. The shinigami were talking.

"You better watch your back, Isshin," Urahara warned. "How do you know he has no vendetta against the shinigami race?"

"It's okay. He may be a jerk but he's my friend and I trust him."

Ryuuken took that in. He hated to admit it, but even though Isshin was a pain and an idiot and a brat…he was a good person, dead or not.

'_I guess it wouldn't hurt…to be a little nicer to that idiot,'_ Ryuuken thought.

Finally, he walked into the kitchen.

"Thank you."

All of the shinigami looked at Ryuuken in shock.

"Did he just say 'thank you'?" Yoruichi questioned, not believing her ears.

"I do believe he did," Urahara chuckled.

"We've made a breakthrough! Let's party!" Isshin cheered.

Ryuuken shook his head. _'Stupid spirits.'_

After the partying, it was time for the college students to return to their dorm rooms. Isshin looked at Ryuuken as they continued walking.

"Try and tell me you didn't have fun and mean it."

Ryuuken didn't respond.

"Ha! I knew it!"

Ryuuken still didn't respond and Isshin began to worry.

"Ishida, you okay?"

"No," Ryuuken responded truthfully.

"What's wrong? You sick? You hurt?" A large grin came onto Isshin's face. "You…constipated?"

Isshin laughed and covered his head, anticipating the Quincy's strike. But it never came. Lowering his hands, Isshin looked at Ryuuken strangely.

"Ishida, what's wrong?"

"…How did you die?"

Isshin's eyes widened in shock before he chuckled. "Why would you want to know that? Last I checked, there was no profit in it."

"I'm just curious," Ryuuken said.

"Well, I can't satisfy your curiosity. Shinigami can't remember when they died. We don't remember anything from when we were alive," Isshin explained.

"Why?"

"I guess because it'd interfere with who we are now. You don't want past pain to interfere with future pain, I guess."

"Hmm." Ryuuken walked ahead of Isshin. "That's sad."

Isshin stopped walking and watched Ryuuken's retreating back. A tear worked its way to his eye, but Isshin laughed it off. Ryuuken turned back to Isshin just in time to be tackled in a hug.

"What are you doing, you moron? Do you want another yaoi girl incident?" Ryuuken growled.

Letting go, Isshin smiled at his…friend. "Thanks for caring. I knew I would get you to."

Ryuuken just looked at him for a few seconds before he smacked Isshin upside his head.

"You're a fool," Ryuuken sighed.

"Then you're a fool's friend," Isshin retorted.

Ryuuken shook his head and the two continued walking. During the entire walk, Isshin couldn't shake the smile off of his face. Ryuuken was right. It was sad not knowing anything about his life before he died, but it was okay. He knew something.

'_I probably never had a friend as great as Ishida, and I know he can say the same for me.'_

Unknown to Isshin, Ryuuken was thinking the same thing, though…he'd never admit it, not even to himself.

"Can we ride the subway to get back?" Isshin asked, breaking the mood.

"…Okay."

Isshin cheered loudly.

"But don't blame me when you get lost."

"I won't get lost!"

That was a lie. As the two entered the subway station, Isshin was so entranced by everything that was glowing and making loud noises that he hadn't noticed Ryuuken getting on the train that would take them back to Karakura Medical University. When he finally realized this, he began to panic.

"Ishida abandoned me! That bastard! Now what am I gonna do?! I have no idea how to get back!"

He then began to cry in a corner. No one dared to go near him. People who cried in the corner of subway stations were always psychotic murderers. However, one girl didn't realize this, or if she did, she didn't care. She walked up to Isshin and placed a hand on his shoulder. Isshin raised his head when he heard the most beautiful sound.

"Are you okay?"

He was praying that this wasn't a siren, that the owner of this beautiful voice wasn't a monster that wanted to kill him. He took a chance and turned his head. His palms got all sweaty. His heartbeat increased dramatically. He felt like he was going to pass out.

"Do you need any help?"

"Yes, please."

The woman smiled the most beautiful smile Isshin had ever seen. "Where are you going?"

"Karakura Medical University."

"That train will be here in another two minutes," the woman said. She sat down and flipped her shoulder-length light brown hair over her shoulder. "I'll wait with you."

"Um…thank you." Who was this woman? Who was this woman with the beautiful voice, kind-hearted nature and flawless face? "I'm Kurosaki Isshin. What's your name?"

The woman turned to him and her light brown eyes shined brightly.

"Masaki. Nice to meet you."

Isshin felt a great warmth surge through his body. His cheeks reddened and he smiled softly. "Likewise."

"Lucky for you, I'm heading in the same direction," Masaki giggled.

"Yeah…lucky…"

"It sure is nice today, isn't it?"

"Yeah…nice…" He wasn't even listening to her words anymore. He was just staring at her and repeating anything he heard. He couldn't help it; she was so pretty.

When he saw a beautiful—though not as beautiful as her face—hand waving in front of his eyes, he snapped out of his staring.

Masaki lowered her hand. "Are you alright? You seemed spaced out."

"I'm fine. Sorry. You're just really pretty." Isshin smacked a hand over his mouth. _'Why the fuck did I say that? Ishida's right, I do have a big mouth!' _

Masaki's cheeks flushed pink and she placed her hands over them. Isshin was ready to take it back.

"Thank you."

He stopped.

"You're really nice."

His face went totally red.

'_Nice? She thinks I'm nice? She thinks I'm nice!'_ Inside, he was doing the victory dance.

"Oh, Isshin-kun, the train is here!"

Masaki stood up, grabbed Isshin's hand, and ran for the train. Isshin was walking on air until they got in the train and were crammed together with a bunch of other people.

"What the hell?! Why's it so crowded?!" he screamed, trying to find at least a little bit of space.

"Is this your first time on a train, Isshin-kun?"

"Yeah."

"Then you'll want to get used to this. It's almost always this crowded."

"What?! Why?!"

"Trains are convenient."

Before Isshin could argue against that, the train started moving. Isshin wasn't expecting the sudden rush so he lost his footing and fell onto Masaki. She was able to hold him up long enough for him to grab one of the handles. The two, with their faces three centimeters apart, stared at each other and blushed.

They then began to feel heated stares. Looking around, they saw practically every older adult glaring at them, disgust and disapproval on their faces.

"Uh, what's with them?" Isshin whispered.

"You must not get out much. It looks as though we're a couple and public affection is frowned upon here," Masaki replied.

Isshin heard nothing after 'we're a couple.' The train stopped and they got off. When they arrived at his university, Isshin hugged Masaki.

"Thank you so much, Masaki-chan!" he cried joyously. He liked any opportunity to touch her.

Masaki blushed. He clearly didn't understand the whole 'public affection is frowned upon' thing, not that she was complaining. She liked his touch. Isshin let go, then began to avoid her eyes.

"So…um…thanks, again."

"No problem." Masaki turned to leave but stopped. "Um, maybe I could give you my number. In case you have trouble again?"

Isshin's face lit up. "I'd like that!"

Masaki took out a pen and wrote her number on his hand. Isshin stared at it like it was the most sacred thing in the world. He would never wash this hand again.

"I attend Karakura University and will be at Aozora Café at 1:00…if you care."

"I care. You have no idea how much I care."

She winked, turned around and waved. "Bye, Isshin-kun."

Isshin waved slowly as he watched her walk away.

"Bye, Masaki-chan." Isshin looked back at his hand before he screamed. "Ishida!" He ran past and pushed down many bystanders as he headed for his dorm room. His running slowed down until he was skipping happily. He opened his door. "Ishida~!"

Ryuuken looked up from his reading. _'So he did make it home on his own.'_ Now, he didn't have to feel guilty…not that he ever would. Isshin danced into their dorm like an idiot.

"Did you take your medication today?"

Isshin danced over to Ryuuken, singing a song that had no real lyrics. Ryuuken nodded. "Definitely forgot your medication."

"It's not that, silly," Isshin laughed. "I'm in love!"

Ryuuken dropped his book.

* * *

The next day…

* * *

"That's her," Isshin whispered, his entire face bright red.

Ryuuken just looked over at the woman with light brown hair that Isshin had suddenly become obsessed with.

All Ryuuken knew was that her name was Masaki and she and Isshin had met each other after Ryuuken had abandoned Isshin in the subway.

"I didn't abandon you," Ryuuken reminded Isshin.

"Well, you left me and I got lost and I got worried and then…" Isshin became all goofy-smiling. "…_she_ found me and helped me find my way back to the university."

"Interesting."

Ryuuken reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

"That's gonna kill you, you know, and I don't wanna be the one to harvest your soul," Isshin laughed.

Looking at him in annoyance, Ryuuken took in a large drag and blew the cigarette smoke in Isshin's face. Isshin didn't move at all.

"You're an asshole."

"So I've been told."

Isshin grabbed the pack and lighter from Ryuuken's hands. He lit one cigarette and started waving it around.

"Oh, look at me. I look so cool because I'm poisoning my lungs with several different chemicals, especially when I know that there are cooler ways to die."

Ryuuken silently glared at Isshin and was going to say many insults before…

"Oh, my, Isshin-kun. You smoke?"

Isshin went completely pale and Ryuuken could feel himself smirking slightly. The two turned to see the lovely Masaki standing by their table.

"M-M-Masaki-chan. This isn't—"

Masaki cut him off. "You look really cool with that cigarette," she giggled.

"I…I do?"

Masaki nodded, which made Isshin grin widely. He took in a large drag, like Ryuuken had, but instantly regretted it. His lungs filled with who-knows-what before he started to cough uncontrollably.

"I probably should have warned you not to do that," Ryuuken said, blowing some smoke out of his mouth.

"Shut it!" Isshin growled.

"I still say he looks really cool," Masaki piped.

A goofy smile came onto Isshin's face. He was so taking up smoking now. Masaki looked at the silent silver-head.

"And who might you be?"

"That's my roommate. He's a jerk. You don't know want to know him."

"Your jerk roommate has a name." Ryuuken sent his gaze over to Masaki. "Ishida Ryuuken."

"Masaki. Nice to meet you." Masaki bowed while Ryuuken just looked at her. Rising up, Masaki sent a smile to Isshin. "Well, I'll see you later, Isshin-kun. Ja."

"Ja."

Isshin sighed happily as he watched Masaki skip off.

"She is so cute."

Ryuuken looked at Isshin. "The plant beside you is on fire."

"What?"

Ryuuken pointed as Isshin looked over and gasped when he saw that the Quincy was right. The plant _was_ on fire. He quickly took the cup of water on the table and put the fire out.

"Nice," Ryuuken said.

Taking another look at the cigarette in his hand, Isshin moaned. He took in a small drag, then let it out.

"Can you help me learn how to smoke?"

"You're doing a pretty good job of it by yourself. Can _you_ die from smoking?"

"I don't know," Isshin answered truthfully.

Ryuuken shrugged his shoulders before returning to his cigarette. He stopped when he noticed that Isshin was staring at him…again.

"What?"

"We've gotta find you a woman."

Ash fell off of the tip of Ryuuken's cigarette. What?

"I shouldn't be the only one happy with a wonderful girl. You're my best friend, so I'm finding you a good girl. Maybe we should check the personals."

Ryuuken shook his head. "I'm good."

"But I don't want you to be lonely and stuff. Don't you wanna have kids when you're older? I know I want a girl and two boys!" Isshin had his children planned out perfectly. A big sister who would look after her little brothers and the little brothers would always look up to their big sister. The girl would look exactly like Masaki while the sons would take after him.

"…I want a son."

"Oh, what would you name him? I know I want to name my first son Ichigo," Isshin said.

"You want to name your son 'Strawberry'? You're meaner than I am," Ryuuken questioned.

"Ichigo as in 'one who protects', asshole!" Isshin shouted.

"His name would be Uryuu."

"Sounds girly."

"Better than being called 'Strawberry'."

"I told you that it means 'one who protects'! My son will be very proud to have that name!"

"A thousand yen says that he hates you for it and you two fight every day."

"You are so on!"

* * *

"Ishida, don't hate me for what I've done."

Ryuuken looked up from his homework and glared at Isshin. "Something tells me I'm going to anyway."

"Well, I really think you need a girlfriend," Isshin told him.

"I don't," Ryuuken responded.

"So, I kinda told every girl in school that you'd go out on speed dates with them to find your perfect match," Isshin laughed.

_SNAP!_

Isshin's jaw slacked when he saw Ryuuken's pen break in half, the black liquid dripping over his fingers. Ryuuken looked up at him and Isshin tremble as he looked into the rage-filled eyes of his friend.

"You did _what_ now?" Ryuuken hissed.

"Oh, come on, Ishida! You need it!"

"I do not," Ryuuken argued, getting another pen.

"Ishida, I understand what it is," Isshin said. Ryuuken looked at him for a few seconds. "You want a son, which means you want a relationship. However, since we're college students, you assume that the relationship you start now will not lead to a marriage and if it does, the marriage will be quick and short. Am I right?"

"Miraculously, you are."

"You never know, Ishida. Give them a shot?"

Ryuuken stopped writing and thought about it for a moment before he sighed.

"I'm taking that as a 'fine'," Isshin chuckled.

"Yes, but if no one interests me, you give up on your search to find me someone and let me work at my own pace." Ryuuken glared at him. "Understood?"

Isshin gave a salute. "Yeah, yeah, but if you find someone tonight, you do my homework for a month."

"…Deal, and if I don't, you don't ask me for help with homework for a month."

"Deal."

* * *

"Uh, Kurosaki…how many women did you say I would be speed dating?"

"Fifty. Why?"

Ryuuken held out his hand, exasperation all over his face. "Because this is a much greater number than fifty."

Isshin looked at the women and nodded.

"You're right. Oh well, more options."

'_Note to self: Pincushion.'_

"Ladies, please get into a straight line based on the numbers you picked and we will begin the speed dating," Isshin announced.

All of the girls squealed and began to bum rush each other for their place in line. Isshin and Ryuuken watched the scene in horror. Women were a lot scarier than they thought.

"Well, good luck. Number one: Himawari Atsuko!"

"That's me! That's me!" a redhead with gray eyes shrieked.

Ryuuken sighed loudly before he took his seat. _'Let's get this over with,'_ he thought.

Atsuko took the seat in front of him and began to giggle uncontrollably. Ryuuken's eyebrow rose, but he decided to ignore it.

"So…what do you like to do?"

"Oh! I…he he he…I love to…ha ha ha…tell jokes…ha! Wanna hear one?!"

A glare from Ryuuken told Isshin that this date was dead.

"Maybe another time, Atsuko. We'll let you know what Ishida thinks," Isshin said, picking her up and scooting her off. Atusko was still laughing the entire time. "Moving on!"

-

Thirty minutes later…

-

"Number 78: Karasugami Kara!"

A girl with green hair and eyes silently sat in front of Ryuuken. The two stared at each other for a while until Ryuuken spoke.

"Do you have any hobbies?"

No response.

"…Do you have any pets?"

No response.

"…Do you have anything you want to say to me?"

She opened her mouth and a large cloud of brown smoke escaped her mouth. It went towards Ryuuken's face; his nose twitched; his eye dilated; he fell over. Isshin screamed and Kara stood up, bowed, then walked off.

-

Fifty minutes later…(including the twenty minutes to wake Ryuuken up)

-

"Uh…number 194: Hoshino Tori."

"That's me," a blond girl with red eyes said, taking her seat.

"What hobbies do you have?" Ryuuken asked.

"I like to read and write," Tori answered, smiling.

Ryuuken watched her for a few seconds. "Any pets?"

"I do have a three-month old kitten named Kumo."

"I see. How are you in school?"

"Number three in my class in high school."

Isshin watched the scene, joy evident in his eyes. It looked like Ryuuken had finally found someone. Was their search over?

"What do you want to do after you finish studying at Karakura?"

"Oh, I want to use my medical knowledge to help the dead."

Ryuuken's eyes widened and Isshin smacked his forehead. So close.

"…Excuse me?"

"Well, the dead are all around us, and who knows what kind of medical treatment they may need? I want to find out. That's why I'm also studying under a monk to connect with the next world," Tori responded.

Ryuuken looked at Isshin, who nodded. "Next," Isshin groaned. _'Damn Ishida and his 'I-don't-care-about-the-dead' attitude.'_

Isshin looked at his clipboard. "…Last one. Number 195: Enko Rin."

A girl with blue and green hair and sunglasses sat down. She stared in Ryuuken's general direction for a few moments. Before Ryuuken could start talking, she did.

"Do you like video games?"

Ryuuken stopped. "Why?"

"I refuse to go out with any man that doesn't have knowledge of at least half of the games I play. You are not worth the time."

Ryuuken's eye twitched. She did not just say he was not worth the time because he did not play stupid video games.

"Video games are not stupid!" Rin screamed, slamming her hands on the table. The two Hollow slayers stared at her in shock. "Video games are genius. They are where science and art comingle and become one! How dare you insinuate such a thing!"

Ryuuken didn't know what was worse: this girl getting so emotional over video games, or the way she read his mind like that. She must be used to it.

"Kurosaki," Ryuuken growled.

"Thank you for coming," Isshin groaned.

Rin stomped out of the café and just before she closed the door, she tossed something at Isshin and Ryuuken, then ran off. The two watched the small ball she had thrown as it fell towards them before landing on the table. It began to beep and blink rapidly.

"Oh, shit!"

"Run."

They bolted out of the café just before the ball exploded. The two looked at the café that was now painted in yellow.

"Kurosaki!"

Isshin visibly grimaced as he heard his name called by the café owner. He dragged himself inside while Ryuuken stood and waited. He should have known. Dozens of girls and none of them were right. He knew that trying to have a girlfriend in college was stupid and would just lead to a fleeting romance.

"Oh!"

Turning around, Ryuuken saw someone struggling with a large amount of boxes. He sighed and walked over to the person.

"Let me help."

The person looked at him and Ryuuken's mind went blank. There was no usual thinking, no usual complaining, no usual anything. All there was in his mind was the image of the girl before him. All he could think of was this girl with her flowing black hair, large brown eyes, and angelic face. She smiled at him and a laugh escaped her.

"Thank you so much. I could really use it."

Ryuuken didn't know what was happening to him. Why did his face feel so warm? He wasn't sick, was he? Why did he have a strange feeling in his stomach? Was he hungry? No. What…what was happening to him?

"Excuse me?"

Ryuuken was brought out of his confusion by a sweet-sounding voice. He looked down at the girl, who was staring at him in worry.

"Is something wrong? You don't look well."

Ryuuken brought his fingers to his glasses and began to adjust them for no real reason.

"I'm fine." He then grabbed several of the boxes. "Here. I've got them."

"Thank you so much…um…"

"My name is Ishida Ryuuken."

The girl smiled once more. "Pleased to meet you, Ishida-kun. I'm Kagami Kirei."

'_Yes, you are,'_ Ryuuken thought before mentally slapping himself. _'Wait. What did I just think?'_ (A/N: Please note that the 'yes, you are' has to deal with the fact that Kirei means 'beautiful'.)

"I don't have to take these boxes far, so if you wouldn't mind helping me until then…" Kirei said.

He wanted to say 'no'. He wanted to just leave the girl that was making him feel and think very weird things alone…but he couldn't. "…Sure."

Kirei smiled and began to walk off, and Ryuuken, controlled by some unknown force, followed. Isshin sighed as he walked out of the café. Luckily, he had convinced the owner not to hang him since the yellow goop was removable, but that didn't change the fact that he hadn't found a soulmate for Ishida.

"I don't want to give up hope on him, but we tried 195 girls and not one of them stirred his heart. Maybe it is hopeless," Isshin mumbled.

That was when he opened his eyes. What he saw shocked him to no end. Across the street was Ryuuken…and a girl, and they were…they were talking…and…and…

"Is he smiling? He is not smiling!" Isshin squinted his eyes then frowned. "He really isn't smiling. Dammit! B-b-but he's not pushing her away!"

Isshin ran across the street, just before a truck would have hit him so he could die…again, then hid behind a plant and listened in.

"Thank you once again, Ishida-kun," Kirei laughed.

"It was nothing, Kagami-san," Ryuuken replied.

Isshin's ears couldn't believe what they were hearing. _'Did he just address her by her name?'_

"Is there any way I could repay you, though?"

"…Actually, there is one way."

'_Is he about to ask her what I think he's about to ask her?'_

"What would that be? I'd be willing to do anything."

Ryuuken felt his face start to burn once more, and a weird flapping feeling worked its way into his throat. Why was this so difficult? It shouldn't be this difficult, but it was.

"W-w-would…y-y-y-you…" Ryuuken was screaming at himself. _'Come out! Say it! You can insult anyone without hesitation, but you can't ask a simple question?!'_

Even with all of the screaming of his inner mind, Ryuuken's mouth wouldn't form words. Isshin's eye began to twitch uncontrollably before Isshin roared.

"Just ask the shinigami-damned question!" Isshin ordered, coming from behind the plant.

"Kagami-san,wouldyougooutwithme?" The question all came out at once and sounded like nothing more than gibberish.

Ryuuken turned around and sent the mother of all death glares at Isshin, who wanted very badly to go back behind the plant and hide.

"I'd like that, Ishida-kun."

Ryuuken swirled his head back around when he heard that. "You…you would?"

"Sure, you seem like a nice person and—"

"HA!"

Ryuuken glared at Isshin while Kirei looked at him in confusion. Isshin couldn't help it. Clearly, this girl had not known Ryuuken long enough.

"Is…is he a friend of yours, Ishida-kun?"

"…If I say 'unfortunately', will that change your mind about going out with me?"

"No."

"Then, unfortunately, he is. His name is—"

Isshin shot past him, stood in front of Kirei, and bowed.

"Kurosaki Isshin. Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for going out with Ishida. I am glad he found someone that seems like such a good person that makes him a…ha ha…nice person." Isshin did his best to contain his laughter at the end.

Kirei bowed in return. "My pleasure. I am Kagami Kirei. I am glad Ishida-kun has such a nice friend."

"Nice, stupid and leaving." Ryuuken grabbed Isshin by his collar and threw him into the plant he had been hiding out in. "So…uh…when would you…"

"How about tomorrow? Seven? Movies?" Kirei suggested.

"It's a…a…" Ryuuken was having trouble saying the word.

"A date?"

"Yes."

Kirei bowed to him before she skipped off. Ryuuken felt his face return to normal temperature and his regular senses return to normal. What things that woman did to him.

"Well…" Isshin walked up to Ryuuken, brushing the leaves out of his hair. "…You better get started. I have a paper due tomorrow and it's only half finished."

Ryuuken's eyes widened before he looked around. When he was sure that no one was around, he pulled out his Quincy Cross. Isshin looked at it, screamed, and ran off. Ryuuken pulled out his bow, chasing Isshin down.

"Just because I don't have my zanpakutou doesn't mean I can't kick your ass!" Isshin yelled, still running.

Ryuuken didn't reply. He wasn't angry; he was actually grateful, but it was fun to watch Isshin run away in terror.

"Then try it," Ryuuken said, firing an arrow.

* * *

The Next Day…

* * *

Ryuuken looked at himself in the mirror. Nothing fancy, yet nothing too casual. As usual, he looked perfect.

"Oooh, look who's getting all dolled up for his date with the beautiful Kirei-chan."

Turning around, Ryuuken looked at Isshin who was dancing around like an idiot. "I'm so happy! Little Ishida is growing up!"

So many reasons to kill him; so many things stopping him. He looked back in the mirror once more and images of the beautiful brown-eyed brunette came flooding in. This was going to be one of the best nights of his life as long as…

"You better not try and follow us," Ryuuken growled.

"How could you say such a thing? Just because I know you're gonna do something stupid doesn't mean I'd follow you," Isshin sighed.

"I will do nothing stupid."

"You mean like yesterday when you couldn't form a single sentence when trying to ask her out?"

A vein bulged on Ryuuken's forehead but Isshin paid it no mind.

"You aren't gonna try to devour her, are you?" Isshin laughed.

The vein bulged larger.

"Nah, you'd sooner pass out like a pansy."

Bright blue arrow in face. That was enough to shut Isshin up.

Sighing, Isshin looked at Ryuuken's jet-black hair. "You even went to the trouble to put your hair back to normal? Why do you dye it anyway?"

"…Even I had my rebellious teen phase. After a while, I just got used to it. I think I may stop though," Ryuuken said, pulling at a lock of hair.

"All because you want Kirei-chan to see you in all your glory. It's a beautiful thing."

Ryuuken shoved his Quincy Cross back into his pocket, then checked his watch. 5:45. If things went according to plan, he'd be outside the movie theater by 6:00. Sure, he'd be an hour early, but for some reason…some strange unknown reason…she was worth it.

Grabbing his coat, Ryuuken headed to the door, but not before glaring at Isshin.

"Do…not…come."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Ryuuken left. Isshin chuckled as he pulled out his cell phone and pushed a button. Putting it to his face, Isshin smiled when he heard someone pick up.

"Masaki-chan, it's Isshin. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies. When? How about right now?"

-

Ryuuken walked up to the movie theater and stood outside. He didn't know why he was going to wait an hour for a girl in the cold. He didn't know a lot of things right now.

"Ishida-kun!"

Ryuuken's head whipped around and Ryuuken felt all the wind get knocked out of him. Kirei came skipping up to him in a plain light blue dress. She stopped and looked at him, making sure he wasn't a stranger.

"Is that really you, Ishida-kun?"

Ryuuken covered part of his hair in embarrassment. She barely recognized him. He should have just—

"You have such pretty hair. Is that your original color?" Ryuuken lowered his hand and Kirei sighed in relief. "I knew I saw your face, but I had to make sure. I actually like this better than your silver hair."

'_She likes my hair. She recognized me even without it being dyed. She's…'_ Ryuuken's cheeks turned pink. _'…amazing.'_

"I'm just so glad we had the same idea to come early. Now neither of us have to wait," Kirei giggled.

Ryuuken nodded silently, then followed her into the theater. They walked up to the ticket guy and looked at the movie selection.

"Do you have any particular movie you'd like to see?" Kirei asked.

"Something with plot and intelligence," Ryuuken said.

"So, how about _Tether_?" Kirei suggested.

"I suppose."

"Two for _Tether_, please."

Kirei got out her wallet and Ryuuken put a hand over hers. "That is alright, Kagami-san. I will pay."

"Oh, it's okay, Ishida-kun. I really want to pay," Kirei said.

Ryuuken wanted to object until he realized that his hand was over hers. He quickly pulled away then shoved his hands into his pockets. Kirei began to giggle uncontrollably and Ryuuken couldn't help but feel like a complete and utter idiot.

'_I can't believe I'm being so stupid. This is why crushes are for fools,'_ Ryuuken told himself.

Kirei looked at Ryuuken, noticing his confused and annoyed face. Thinking for a moment, she smiled when she thought of something.

"Ishida-kun."

Ryuuken looked at her and was shocked to find some small furry creature in front of his face. It was pink with long ears like a rabbit, a tail like a cat, and a face like a chibi.

"This is Ko-chan," she said, waiting for him to take the stuffed animal. "He's been my best friend for years. So, I wanted him to meet you."

Ryuuken exchanged glances between Kirei and Ko-chan. The girl of his dreams had a freakish stuffed animal as a best friend. Was her social life worse than his? He couldn't see how someone as sweet and friendly and cute and…

He was getting off track.

"Ko-chan likes you," Kirei told him. Ryuuken blinked and she grinned broadly. "He would like a hug."

'_Please tell me she's not serious,'_ Ryuuken pleaded inwardly to anyone who was willing to listen. When he saw that she was indeed serious, Ryuuken shook his head. "I do not think so, Kagami-san."

He immediately regretted it when he saw her eyes fill to the brim with tears. She began to sob and people decided to stop and stare. Ryuuken heard the negative things they were obviously saying about him.

"Kagami-san, please don't cry. It's just…are you sure…Ko-chan…likes me?"

Kirei stopped crying. So he was just worried that Ko-chan didn't like him? She shook her head at Ryuuken's foolishness.

"Of course he likes you. So…you'll hug him?"

He didn't want to. He valued his pride…almost as much as he hated the idea of her crying again. He grabbed Ko-chan and looked at the people who were still looking at them, probably waiting for him to make her cry again.

Ryuuken abandoned his pride—he hugged Ko-chan. Kirei gasped happily and Ryuuken handed it to her like it was pure evil.

'_Was it really worth it?'_

"No other boy who's asked me out would hug Ko-chan." Ryuuken's breath caught in his throat when she embraced him. "You're wonderful, Ishida-kun!"

It was so worth it. Kirei pried herself off Ryuuken and dragged him along. The two got a few snacks and headed to their screening room. Luckily, the movie was already starting or, at least, its previews were.

"Ishida. Kirei-chan. What a coincidence."

Ryuuken began to choke on his snack while Kirei gasped with joy. Isshin and Masaki were taking the seats right beside them.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun, how nice to see you again!" Kirei cheered.

"Yeah, good to see you to, Kirei-chan. Oh, let me introduce you. This is Masaki-chan."

Masaki waved. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to see you as well," Kirei said. "How interesting that we all are here."

"I know. Isshin-kun just invited me to go to the movies a few moments ago. It's so convenient we saw you," Masaki explained.

'_I will kill you in your sleep,'_ Ryuuken's eyes glared.

'_If you haven't done it yet, you won't anytime soon,'_ Isshin's eyes sparkled.

The movie started and everyone began to watch it intently…aside from Isshin, who thought that Masaki was far more intriguing.

Masaki saw Isshin staring at her from the corner of her eye and smiled. She placed her head on Isshin's shoulder and relaxed. Isshin grinned and placed his head over hers.

Kirei looked over at the couple and sighed. _'I wish Ishida-kun would do that with me.' _She took a peek at Ryuuken, who was paying full attention to the movie. _'But I don't want to bother him when he's so into the movie.'_

Ryuuken didn't care at all about the movie. It was a good movie, but he was too nervous to think about it. All he could do was stare straight ahead.

Isshin watched the two in annoyance. _'I don't believe this. He's a dating noob.'_

Isshin, since he was sitting right beside Ryuuken, flicked the side of Ryuuken's head. Ryuuken glared at him while Isshin began to communicate with body language. He pointed to Ryuuken, placed his arm around Masaki, then put his head on hers.

Ryuuken shook his head and Isshin gave him the evil eye.

'_I won't do it.'_

'_Then Kirei-chan is gonna be really sad.'_

He took that in for a moment before sighing. He willed his arm up and behind Kirei. He grabbed her shoulder, closing his eyes tightly. Kirei looked at the hand on her shoulder then at Ryuuken before she snuggled up to him. Ryuuken went stiff.

'_Eh, he's getting there,'_ Isshin thought with a smile.

The movie came to an end. It was the longest two hours of Ryuuken's life.

"Wasn't that wonderful?" Masaki giggled.

Kirei nodded enthusiastically. "I know. I had no idea that it was the youngest daughter."

While the girls talked about the movie, the guys were talking about how Ryuuken did.

"So, to recap: you can barely talk to her without stuttering, you almost always stiffen up when she touches you, and you won't show her any sign of affection out of fear. Your final grade?" Isshin held out a piece of paper with a huge F on it. "You fail at dating."

Ryuuken wanted to hurt him so badly, but he couldn't because…he knew Isshin was right. He truly did fail at dating.

"However, we can compliment you on one thing." Ryuuken raised his eyebrow until Isshin brought out a picture. "You hugged Ko-chan." Ryuuken's jaw dropped as he stared at the picture. "In case you're wondering: yes, I have made copies. Yes, I have hidden the negatives. Yes, I am going to blackmail you."

Ryuuken began to twitch uncontrollably. He couldn't even shoot him in public. How could he…?

Isshin gulped when he saw Ryuuken smirk. What was going on? Ryuuken walked past Isshin and over to the girls.

"Masaki-san, I'm so glad that you are keeping Kurosaki company while his girlfriend is out of town," Ryuuken chuckled.

Masaki felt her heart plummet. "His…girlfriend?"

"No! He's lying!" Isshin screamed before tackling Ryuuken to the ground. "It's a lie. I swear on my mother's mother's mother's grave!"

"Don't be so modest, Kurosaki. Your girlfriend is so pretty," Ryuuken said, wrestling with Isshin.

"I'm gonna kill you and pray you turn into a Hollow!"

The two girls watched until Kirei smiled at Masaki.

"I think Ishida-kun just wanted to make Kurosaki-kun mad," Kirei said.

"It worked well," Masaki giggled. She didn't really believe that Isshin was low enough to two-time a girl. She stopped giggling and looked at the two boys who were still wrestling with each other. "I have to get back to my dorm."

"Me too."

The boys stopped, turning toward the girls who were waving at them.

"Ja, Isshin-kun."

"Bye-bye, Ishida-kun."

The two walked off while Isshin and Ryuuken sat on the ground. Isshin turned to Ryuuken.

"You did get her number, right?" Isshin asked. Ryuuken paled and Isshin brought his face into his hands. "F-minus!"

Ryuuken reached for his Quincy Cross, then stopped. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he was shocked to see a piece of paper in his hand. Opening it up, his face went red. On the paper was a phone number and a message in neat writing:

_I really would like to see you again. Call me. _

_Kirei._

Isshin took a look at the note. "She's good."

Ryuuken nodded with a blush on his face. "Very."

* * *

So, yeah, sorry it took forever but I'm glad I finally updated and I hope you are too. I promise that the next chapter won't take nearly as long.


End file.
